On Trying
by kitsu012
Summary: Would it kill her to just be a little bit nicer to him?


Disclaimer: I don't own Hataraku Maou-sama!

On Trying

"You look nice tonight."

"Go away."

Emi internally winced at the immediate response coming from her mouth. She needed to work on controlling her Demon-hate reflex.

"You know, normal people would say 'thanks' to a compliment."

"Normal Dark Lords don't compliment someone unless there's some hidden agenda," Emi said, not turning away from the cityscape view she could see from the window. Although she talked in a sufficiently cold, indifferent tone, she could feel her traitorous cheeks warm up.

"I didn't know you were coming. When did you and Chi-chan become so close?"

Emi turned to face the owner of the (unfortunately) familiar voice.

"Chiho and I email each other from time to time and we've hung out," she crossed her arms and held her head high, "She invited me."

Maou nodded appreciatively. "And you get to stalk me in the process. That's convenient. Are you sure you're not half-demon, Emi?"

She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Are you sure you're not quite out of your mind?"

His lips twitched up into a small grin. "Okay, so since we've established the fact that you're a good little angel girl, can I ask you a favor?"

She blinked, disinterested. "Huh?"

"You see, there's this formal—"

"Hold on for a sec," she held her hands up, "Why should I help you?"

He tilted his head to the side and frowned. " You fought side-by-side with me and Alsiel against Orba and Lucifer. And I saved you from that perverted angel. You _gave_ me a nice umbrella. I thought we were kind of okay now?"

"One: Don't make it sound as if we're in a relationship. And two: The incidents mentioned were serious matters that unfortunately required our joining of forces to win against a common enemy."

"Oh, come on. It's just this one tiny little thing. It's just one night. Please?"

Emi found herself not quite knowing what to do. She didn't really want to aid the Dark Lord. At the same time though, she felt obligated to help, remembering all the times he had helped her willingly, sometimes even without being asked. Plus, he said 'please' just now. What kind of Dark Lord says 'please' anyway?

She sighed. "What is it? I'll mince you to pieces if you're doing any funny business."

Maou smiled.

* * *

"Emi?"

"Hm?"

"My arm's going numb. Can you please not squeeze the life out of it?"

"You said this was just a _small, little formal party_."

"Isn't it?"

Emi stared disbelievingly at him. "The people in this room except you and me look freaking _important_. _Really_ important. And they look like _walking gold mines_. What exactly is your classification of _small_ and _little_?"

"We're the Dark Lord and the Hero. How are we not important?"

"That's not the point! How can you not be freaking out right now?!"

"How can the Hero who bravely faced countless demons and drove the Dark Lord away from Ente Isla be freaking out over a bunch of people wrapped up in expensive clothing?"

She huffed. "What in heaven's name are you doing here anyway?"

"Technically, the manager should be here but she's away on a business trip for a week. So I'm standing in as a representative for MgRonald's."

"They must have been pretty desperate to send you as their representative."

"I take offense to that!" he jabbed a thumb at his chest, "I'm a great employee!"

Emi rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Ugh, I can't believe you dragged me into this. Why couldn't you take Chiho or Suzuno instead?"

"Formal gatherings can get boring," he shrugged, "I didn't want to bother them."

She glared at him.

Sensing her anger, he wisely added, "And, well. You know. This isn't kiddie stuff. I thought you would probably know how to handle mature and sophisticated society best. Chiho's still in high school and Suzuno doesn't really know much about the modern age."

Emi stayed quiet for a few moments before she eventually sighed, conceding to his explanation.

"Still, you should have told me more about the party. I feel horribly underdressed," she frowned, looking at the simple black, knee-high dress she was wearing and then patting the ponytail on her head, "I didn't even do anything special with my hair."

Maou gave her a quick once-over. "It doesn't matter. You look fine the way you are." He directed his gaze at the people surrounding them and then snorted, "Nice jewelry and clothes don't exactly contribute to actual physical appeal."

Emi blinked at his words and felt her face warm a little at the indirect compliment. Her face got even warmer when she remembered what Maou had said back at Chiho's party.

She tried to dissipate the redness of her cheeks. "What you said would have been much more effective if you weren't a desperate part-timer wearing UNESCO to a formal party."

He scowled. "I was trying to be friendly. Would it kill you to be nice to me for even just ten seconds?" he huffed, "And what is with everyone's problem with UNESCO? They sell quality products at affordable prices!"

Emi couldn't help but consider what the pathetic Dark Lord beside her was saying. She didn't think she could ever possibly forgive him for... For what he had done in Ente Isla... But after everything they've been through in Earth, she couldn't really justify treating him with such hatred. Maybe he was right. Would it really kill her to be a (very, very little) bit nicer?

"Well, it's the personality that counts anyway," she shrugged.

That earned her a surprised look from Maou. Nevertheless, he nodded cautiously. "Yeah."

She looked at him thoughtfully. "You don't look half-bad though, even in UNESCO."

He stared at her, his face a weird mix of curious and disturbed. "Um.."

Emi repeated his words from before offhandedly. "Normally, you would say 'thanks' to a compliment."

His eyes lit up in recognition and slowly, a smile started forming on his face. "Yeah... Thanks."

It felt strange seeing Maou directing a smile at her instead of the usual frown or face of indifference. That was enough 'nice' for the day, Emi thought. She cleared her throat. "Can we go get something to drink? My throat's getting a little dry with all this talking."

"Right," he nodded and proceeded to guide her towards the refreshments table.

They walked in silence for a while.

"You look good yourself."

Emi smiled.

* * *

Yeah, I don't know. Just felt like writing something short, light and pointless. Share your thoughts :)


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